The head of the U.S. Navy stated that the Chinese navy had substantial advantages over its American counterpart, including a larger fleet and better shipbuilding capacity.
According to the U.S. Navy's Navigation Plan 2022, which was published last summer, the Pentagon's goal is to have 350 manned ships by 2045, which is still far less than China's projected fleet size.
According to the Navy secretary, China's People's Liberation Army Navy might field up to 400 ships in the coming years, up from the current 340.
The U.S. fleet currently consists of fewer than 300 ships.
U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro stated at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, that China repeatedly attempts to violate the maritime sovereignty and economic prosperity of other nations, including our friends in the South China Sea and elsewhere.
"They got a larger fleet now so they're deploying that fleet globally," he said. "We do need a larger Navy, we do need more ships in the future, more modern ships in the future, in particular, that can meet that threat."
Nonetheless, according to a November assessment from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. fleet is likely to decrease as older boats are decommissioned.
Del Toro stated on Tuesday that American navy shipyards cannot compete with Chinese ones. Similar to fleet size, it comes down to numbers.
"They have 13 shipyards, in some cases their shipyard has more capacity - one shipyard has more capacity than all of our shipyards combined. That presents a real threat," he pointed out.
Del Toro did not provide a breakdown of these shipyards, but according to Chinese and Western media, China has six main shipyards and two smaller shipyards that construct naval warships.
Brent Sadler of the Center for National Defense reported in October that seven shipyards in the U.S. construct large and deep-draft ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.
Nonetheless, regardless of the number of shipyards, workers are required, and Del Toro asserts that China has a numerical advantage in this regard, mostly because it is free of the constraints, rules, and economic pressures that affect U.S. labor.
One huge U.S. difficulty is recruiting skilled labor, he noted.
He added that China has capabilities that the U.S. lacks.
"They're a communist country, they don't have rules by which they abide by," he said.
"They use slave labor in building their ships, right - that's not the way we should do business ever, but that's what we're up against so it does present a significant advantage," he claimed.
